


The Rise of Thanatos

by LordThanatos



Category: Highschool DxD (Anime)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-04 10:51:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14591439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordThanatos/pseuds/LordThanatos
Summary: (Taking place after the drafting of the Kuoh Accord)Thanatos, the ancient God of Death awakens from a 3,000 year slumber to exact his vengeance upon the mortals who stole something precious to him. Can the Gremory peerage, with the aid of Hypnos, return the raging deity to his slumber? Or are they playing into the hands of The Fates themselves?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The following is a fan based short story, High School DxD is property of Ichiei Ishibumi, Miyama-Zero and ATX. Please support the official release.  
> Warning, this story contains: Violence, gore, foul language, possible blasphemy, gratuitous amounts of nudity and sexual situations.
> 
> Reader discretion is advised.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fates, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos awaken the sleeping Thanatos, so that he may enact his vengeance upon the world that wronged him.

In the deepest bowels of the abyss, beyond the reach of any of the underworld's highest ranked devils, lay a land untouched for many thousands of years, the lands of Tartarus. It is home to two children of the Goddess Nyx: the God of Sleep, Hypnos, and his twin brother, Thanatos, the God of Death.

For these thousands of years, Hypnos was charged with keeping Thanatos in a peaceful slumber, within a tomb upon his home of Lemnos, and ensure that his wrath did not reach the surface, for his vengeance against those that have caused him to suffer once shook the foundation of all that lived. At once, their realm remained quiet and undisturbed, until one day…

\-----

"Lachesis, hurry!" Cried a woman's voice, as two robed figures traversed the bleak landscape, heading in the direction of what appeared to be a sizable ancient tomb, with several statues lined up outside depicting a winged youth, holding inverted torches that dimly lit the way.

Soon, they stood before the large marble doors of the tomb, each of them carrying a long object wrapped in cloth, the taller one of the pair pulling on the inverted torch on the statue to their left, the doors slowly began to rumble open. 

"Hypnos is slacking in his duty." The taller woman smirks, “How shameful.”

"All the more advantageous for us." Chuckled the other.

Once the doors had open, the two advanced inside. Statues representing a tall, winged young man with shoulder length hair lined each side of the hall, leading up to the central chamber with a large stone sarcophagus in its center, held aloft only by steel chains and a lone woman standing before it. Passing through the chamber, the statues seemed to illustrate signs of decay, as if a sign that this was the resting place of a terrible being. The two knelt before the woman, smirking as the two began to speak.

"Sister Atropos." They said in unison.

The woman turned toward the others, she was a tall, raven haired woman who wore a skull mask over her right eye, her lips formed a small smile.

"Clotho." He turned to the young red haired woman, then turned to the blonde, "Lachesis." She chuckled, "Too long has it been since we've been together like this. 

“Time cannot keep apart the Sisters of Fate.” chimed the red haired Clotho.

“You've brought what I asked then?" Atropos’ voice turned stern.

“But of course sister.” The blonde pulled the cloth from the object she was carrying, revealing a long, slender sword encased in an obsidian scabbard. "The Nail of Nyx, darkest of blades." Smiled Lachesis, presenting it to her sister, "Long has it yearned to return to his hands.”

Atropos smirked, turning to the blonde who began to reveal what she carried.

"A Life Extinguished by fraternal treachery…" Came Clotho who revealed a large stone torch, "…to be born again."

”Treachery, which shall soon be repaid…” smirked Atropos, “…he will be grateful to be free once again. Sisters, speak unto him the spell! Let us release him!”

Taking the stone torch and the sword, Atropos smiled as she turned toward the large sarcophagus, in the center of the seal sat an indentation where the stone torch would fit. Not wasting any time, she carefully set the stone torch, it fitting in with a click, then with a gentle turn, she turned the torch upside down, she heard a mechanism unlock, as letters upon the sarcophagus appeared. Atropos stepped back from the foot of the large stone, sarcophagus and like her sisters, fell upon one knee while Cloth and Lachesis began to chant what was an ancient spell behind her.

"Awaken from thy slumber, show these mortals what fear and despair is, may they cower when they speak thy name, and drive them to the abyss, oh master of Tartarus!" Atropos chanted, raising her arms into the air, as the lid upon the sarcophagus lifted, "Now, arise, Thanatos!"

The lid on the sarcophagus swung open, as it did, a black fog spilled out from its foot, slowly flooding the tomb, from within, a gaunt, almost skeletal hand grasped the edge, then a second hand on the opposite side, slowly pulling itself from within its prison. Soon, a figure wrapped in a fog-like shroud emerged from within the sarcophagus, its face was concealed beneath a tattered hood formed from the fog that covered the rest of it but one could clearly see clearly the jawbone of a skull. It let out a terrifying roar which echoed throughout Tartarus and the upper parts of the Underworld, as it fully emerged, it snatched the sword from Atropos' hands and glided out of the tomb. Lachesis and Clotho cowered behind a smirking Atropos, who watched with glee as the creature exited the tomb and vanished from sight.

"Listen to him, even after sleeping for thousands of years, his rage remains unquelled." She cackled, "Exact your vengeance upon those that caused your imprisonment!"

Furious, blood-curdling roars could be heard all throughout the underworld, which caught the attention of many of the noble devil families, causing them to emerge from their homes and cast their eyes to the horizon, noting how dark it had suddenly become, how, unsettlingly dark.

Within the ruins of the underworld stray devils, who had escaped from their masters gathered in preparation to make their jump to the human world. In the distance they heard the shriek of the rapidly approaching Thanatos. To their horror, he came upon the group swiftly, slicing one through with the swipe of his hand, blood splattering upon the ground.

The group of them looked on in horror, after their eyes met the skeletal, piercing gaze of the angry deity, who looked upon them snidely and began to speak.

”Worthless creatures…” his voice rumbled low, sending chills through each of them who struggled to move, “…you shall know suffering without end!”

Desperate, Thanatos was being assaulted by all manner of magic, weapons and claws, all of which seemed not to affect him in the slightest. Drawing his blade, he sliced through the lot in one fell swoop, blood, severed limbs and entrails splattering the ground, then, the from this gory scene rose a black miasma as the flesh rotted away in a grotesque display of hyper-decay, before turning to dust. The souls of those devils rose from the ashes and were quickly absorbed into the long, thin blade wielded by the death god. His rampage, however would not end there, as he turned his eyes toward the city on the horizon and with a savage roar, he strode head-on, his thirst not yet satiated by the souls of lesser beings.  
This slaughter was caught by one particular crimson haired devil who immediately turned to his family in a panic.

”Everyone seek shelter! This is not something we can fight!” he would shout before ushering them into his manor.

Enraged roars echoed throughout the city as well as the sounds of blades whirring through the air, all manner of spells being flung, what was once peaceful seemed to transform into a battlefield. 

”Sirzechs!” shouted a woman behind him, he turned to find, Grayfia, his wife, a tall, silver haired woman whose hair was made up with several braids with a panicked expression on her face, she approached him.

”Grayfia, where’s Millicas?” Sirzechs would ask, grabbing her by the shoulders and directing her back toward the door.

”Asleep, wh-”

”Wake him and hide somewhere, and quickly!” Sirzechs’ expression turned stern as he opened the door to his room, “He has awakened, I must hurry to Lemnos!”

Grayfia’s eyes widened as she grasped her husband’s clothing.

”You don’t mean…?”

”Yes… Thanatos…”

The light left Grayfia’s eyes as she looked at him, leaning up to softly kiss him on the lips, knowing full well what he meant to do in that instant.

”Get word to Azazel as well… if I can’t retrieve who I seek, we will need him, hopefully he’ll know what to do.”

Without another word, Grayfia retreated from the chamber to find their son, as well as call forth her familiar to deliver the message as instructed. Sirzechs, in the meanwhile gathered up his retainers as he prepared to make a journey to a place he thought was myth, the lands of Tartarus, hoping to find the one who could help them return the rampaging deity to his slumber.

\-----

Meanwhile, back on Lemnos, a young man with long, white hair with black streaks, draped in a white toga, was returning from what appeared to be gathering, as he carried a wicker basket with a bouquet of red flowers. As he approached the mausoleum, his eyes widened, it was never lit so brightly before, in a panic he sprinted forth stopping short at the open stone doors.

"No..." he shuddered before advancing into the mausoleum itself, stopping at the open sarcophagus and falling on both knees, dropping the basket of poppies beside him, "Nonono..." 

Hypnos stared at the empty sarcophagus, wondering who could have opened it, and more importantly: how. Rising from his knees he quickly fled from within the mausoleum and headed to a cave nearby, within he picked up a medium sized pouch from a small table, cursing under his breath as he scurried about. It was then a young woman emerged from another part of the cave, wearing naught but a sheer white night dress, yawning as she watches the frantic Hypnos.

"Hypnos, darling what's the matter?" She asks, stretching a little, blinking when she took notice of his face, "Darling? You look like you've seen Hades..."

"Not quite Pasithea..." he mused nervously, "We have a big problem, someone awoke Thanatos..."

The woman blinked, immediately running over to him, her generous bosom bouncing as she did so and grabbing him by the shoulders, looking him in the eyes, she asked.

"Has anyone from the upper part of the Underworld found out yet?!" She worried.

Hypnos shut his eyes tightly and through grit teeth said, "If not, they will soon..."

Pasithea eyed her husband worriedly.

"I can feel it, he is furious... and yet, he did not come for me first, despite I was the one who put him to sleep and helped to seal him in that sarcophagus." He cringed, knowing full well that much of the Underworld would know the wrath of Thanatos, "He'll continue his revenge against those that wronged him..."

Pasithea embraced Hypnos tenderly, lightly kissing his cheek, before looking him in the eyes once more.

"There was no way you could have seen this coming..." she softly spoke, as if to reassure him.

"I know." nodded Hypnos, "But I am the only one who can stop him before even Hades finds out. I have to…"

"Hades would revel in the amount of souls Thanatos would bring him." She chuckled, until she saw Hypnos' nervous expression, she then looked at him once again worries, "You're serious aren't you?"

"I've not been to the upper levels, or the surface world for millenia, I can only wonder how much it's changed." He said as he laced the pouch onto his belt, then cupped Pasithea's face, "I need you to prepare for when I bring him back."

"You mean...?"

"Yes, but a far more potent batch this time, we're going to need something stronger than what I've had to use on Zeus."

Pasithea groaned, remembering exactly what he meant, but soon nodded in agreement. Once the plan was set Hypnos turned to exit the cave but not before getting a hug from behind and a kiss on his cheek. As he emerged from the cave, the god was immediately met with the sight of the tips of spears pointed directly at him. Immediately he sighed and raised up his hands, as if to surrender, despite having no real option. The crowd of soldiers immediately began to part, setting their spears into the ground as a tall, well dressed man with, blazing red hair emerged from it, stopping to stand, just feet away from the god.

Hypnos felt hims lips curl into a small smile, wanting to laugh, but finding it would be inappropriate. 

"Lord Hypnos." The red haired young man would bow, as would the soldiers in his company.

"Well... you're here far sooner than I expected..." Hypnos mused.  
\-----  
Back in the upper levels of the Underworld, the three sisters, Atropos, Lachesis and Clotho would walk through the devastated, blood soaked streets of one of the last devil cities, some of it set ablaze, no doubt by magic. The tallest of them, merely cackled at the sight, while the other two cringed at the sight of it, sickened at what they had wrought.

"You see my sisters, this is what happens when you keep an animal caged and hungry." Grinned Atropos.

"But will it be enough for him to regain his power?" Asked Clotho, “Fearsome as he may be, he has lost much of his former strength.”

Atropos turned to her sister and nodded.

"You of all people know what the Nail of Nyx does to any it cuts, sister Atropos." Chimed Lachesis, who walked by her side, “In due time, he will regain everything he once was in ancient times.”

”Correct, my dear sister, but these inferior beings will not sate his great hunger. For that we will require, a stronger source.” said Atropos who walked through the city, her sisters following close behind.

The three would continue talking until they came to the central square, finding not a monster at it's heart, but a young man, draped in the same black shroud of clothing draped over his pelvis, resting with head hanging leaned against remnants of a destroyed fountain. As he rest, panting and exhausted, as if overwhelmed, another soul flew into the young man's chest, eliciting a gasp from him before he fell limp. Seeing this, Atropos would grin as she stepped closer, looking down upon him as her sisters joined her at either side. Weakly he would look up at them, his vision blurry as he once again passed out, but not before hearing Atropos speak.

"Brother, dear~"


	2. Act 1-1 Gathering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hypnos is summoned to the chambers of Sirzechs Gremory, the current Lucifer of Hell in order to formulate how best to proceed now that Thanatos has been set loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following is a fan based short story, High School DxD is property of Ichiei Ishibumi, Miyama-Zero and ATX. Please support the official release.  
> Warning, this story contains: Violence, gore, foul language, possible blasphemy, gratuitous amounts of nudity and sexual situations.
> 
> Reader discretion is advised.

Hypnos sighed as he was escorted through the manner of Sirzechs by guards, sure, if he wanted to he could put the entire mansion to sleep and make his escape, but he wanted to hear what the Crimson Satan had to say first, before making any such rash decisions. They opened the large wooden doors and ushered the white haired god inside, his crystal blue eyes caught sight of the lord of the manor himself, seated at a table not far from the entrance to the room, and Grayfia at his side. She smiled and greeted him with a bow, feeling her cheeks redden at his beauty, Hypnos nodded in reply before one of the guards pulled out his chair and allowed him to be seated.

”Welcome, my Lord.” spoke Grayfia.

“If you wanted an audience, you didn’t have to send an army you know.” Hypnos sighed, looking down at his fingernails idly, “I’d have come of my own accord.”

”Apologies my Lord, you see everything transpired so suddenly that I had to be prepared, just in case your brother decided to show up.” bowed Sirzechs apologetically.

Hypnos merely nodded, a bored expression played upon his features.

“Understood, you were just as surprised as I was that he was awake, but I suppose you wouldn’t fully understand having had to watch over that tomb for over 3,000 years.” he sighed once more.

“Nevertheless, my Lord, his awakening caused the deaths of several dozen devils.” said Sirzechs, who was trying to choose his words carefully.

Hypnos shut his eyes tightly, remember full well why he had to put Thanatos into slumber for doing something similar to this, many years past.

“While it is regrettable, I thought that your kind was resilient.” he replied.

Sirzechs beckoned one of his guards over who then dumped the bones of a fallen devil onto the table before them, seconds later, the bones degraded, turning to dust before their eyes. The gods’ eyes widened, and the Crimson Satan noted this, while Grayfia tried to maintain composure, she had seen much but never anything like the phenomena she just witness.

“True, we are, but not against something like this…” growled Sirzechs, who began to sound concerned, “What do you suppose could have done this?”

”Only one weapon could have done it… but… I buried it… along with any remnants of mother and father.” said Hypnos who was also concerned, “I don’t know how he could have known where.”

“Outside help perhaps?” asked Grayfia.

“From whom I could not say, we, being children of Nyx aren’t very well thought of among our Pantheon.” Hypnos chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a little, “Well, there is one I could think of, but I’ve not seen her since before Thanatos was imprisoned.”

Sirzechs quirked a brow, and Grayfia also stood at attention.

”And who are they?” she would ask.

”Our half-sister, Atropos, but she hasn’t been seen since the feud her and my brother had.” Hypnos shook his head, “The one time he actually saved the entire world, by locking some of our… less desirable siblings behind the doors of Death.”

”He saved the world?!” gasped Sirzechs and Grayfia.

”Hard to believe isn’t it? Even Hades was surprised at this, of course, the callous bastard never liked getting his own hands dirty, even when it came to defending Tartarus.” Hypnos chuckled, “Thanatos takes his job quite seriously you know, especially when it comes to his dominion.”

Sirzechs’ eyes went wide at the mention of Hades, but Grayfia nudged him, which caused the Satan to gather his wits.

“Why would she release him then if he did all of that?” he asked, quite puzzled.

”I don’t dabble in the affairs of Death Gods, I’m already busy ruling half the lives of mortals as it is.” Hypnos shook his head, “All of that aside, he probably hasn’t regained much of his power as of yet. If we can find him, I can put him back into his slumber without much resistance.”

”But if he has the aid of Atropos, as you suppose, then she would probably want to keep his whereabouts a secret.” replied Sirzechs.

“That’s troubling, especially if they smuggled him onto Earth.” she looked at her husband, “We should alert your sister and the others up there.”

”Yes. We’ll also need someone with knowledge of Lord Thanatos’ power.” Sirzechs turned his gaze to Hypnos, “My Lord, will you lend us your knowledge.”  
Hypnos nodded, “Of course, I’m responsible for allowing him to be set free, I’m involved whether I like it or not.” he arose from his seat, “I don’t wish to cause your kind any more problems than necessary, well… on purpose…” he chuckled.

Sirzechs slowly rose to his feet, as he and Grayfia bowed to the god, he returned their bow.

“There are some things I require however, I will need someone to send word to Pasithea as to my whereabouts, as I assume I will be heading to the surface myself. Also, I will require a guide, I know not how much the world may have changed in over 3,000 years.”

”I’ve already made arrangements.” nodded Sirzechs, looking past Hypnos as the doors to the room opened once again, “Ah, speaking of, here he is now.”

Grayfia groaned as she watched, Azazel, a tall man with jet black hair and blonde bangs approach them, but she held her tongue. Sirzechs smirked at the fallen angel’s approach, who approached the table, but stopping in his tracks when he saw Hypnos.

“My Lord.” bowed Azazel, “It’s an honor to finally meet you, I must say, I’m a huge fan.”

Hypnos rolled his eyes.

”Oh, is that a fact?” he sighed, looking bored once again.

”Lord Hypnos, God of Sleep, gifted one of the youngest graces as a wife, ruling over half of the lives of mortals.”

Hypnos grew quite suspicious as he eyed Sirzechs, turning toward the fallen angel, seeming annoyed.

”And just how is it that you know-”

”Pasithea, is it?”

”Azazel! Do not interrupt Lord Hypnos!” snapped Grayfia.

“Crimson Satan what is the meaning of this, and how does this man possess such knowledge of myself and my personal life?” Hypnos said, thoroughly annoyed.

“Azazel here is a bit of a bookish type, spends a lot of his time researching anything that fascinates him.” replied Sirzechs, “Forgive his boorish nature, he’s usually far more well behaved.”

Azazel laughed and offered his hand to Hypnos to shake, the god stood puzzled for a moment, Grayfia shook her head, giving a ‘tsk tsk’ to the fallen angel, who retracted his hand.

”My apologies, Lord Hypnos.” he chuckled nervously before bowing.

”Honesty Azazel.” she sighed before approaching the group, “My Lord, you mentioned your wife, what shall I relay to her?” she produced a small creature in her hand, who looked up at Hypnos, tilting it’s tiny head.

”Oh, that’s right.” he leaned down toward the creature, giving a strange look before speaking to it, “Let her know to have the sleeping draught ready as soon as possible, I will contact her again as soon as I’ve found Thanatos.”

Once the creature had the message, it squeaked and flew off through the window glass and off into the underworld, Grayfia then bowed as she returned to standing behind Sirzechs, eyeing Azazel carefully as if to give him ample warning.  
Hypnos, on the other hand returned his gaze to Azazel, who was sheepishly grinning and seemed rather twitchy, he sighed before speaking once again.

“So, I’ll be staying with you I guess?” he asked, “I suppose it’ll be handy to have someone knowledgeable about what’s going on.” he then raised the leather pouch he wore on his side and showed it to Azazel, “Alright, first, a test, what is this I’m holding?” he tossed it up, causing the contents within to shift.

Thinking for a moment Azazel scratched his chin, “Let’s see, fine leather, poppy sigil, ugh, powerful stuff.” his eyes lit up once he realized, “The Pouch of Erebus! Even the sandman would love to get his hands on stuff powerful enough to put even gods to sleep.”

The god stood amazed, his eyes widened as he put the pouch on his belt once again, he turned to Sirzechs and Grayfia who bowed to him, and he returned their respect.

“I thank you Crimson Satan, I honestly wish we had met under different circumstances, but I must be off if we are to prevent any more from falling to my brother.” said Hypnos.

“Please my Lord, you may address me as Sirzechs.” replied Sirzechs.

“Oh, but I don’t wish to be so disrespectful.” said Hypnos, “Even I still honor the titles of your social status.”

“You honor me, Lord Hypnos.”

“Hate to break up the semantics, but should we not hurry?” chimed in Azazel, “He’s on the move.”

“Azazel…” growled Grayfia.

“No, no, he’s right, well, off I go then.” replied Hypnos who walked past Azazel, giving a bit of a disapproving look before pressing on, “Shall we then?”

“Should I tell your sister of what’s going on?” asked Azazel, whose expression now turned serious, “This situation is highly dangerous and I would hate to see anything befall her.”

Sirzechs grit his teeth, sighed and nodded, looking off to the side.

“It seems we don’t have a choice, we’ll have to let the Sitris know about this as well, this will be interesting to explain to the other Satans.” he said, “She mustn’t engage someone so dangerous.”

”I agree, well, I better get going, and you better hurry and get word to the other families as well.” Sirzechs smiled, bowed to the two of them, then walked quickly to rejoin Hypnos who stood in the doorway, “So, tell me the story about the time you helped Hera trick Zeus during the Trojan War!”

”Ugh, does she tell EVERYONE that story?” Hypnos sighed.

Grayfia scoffed, mumbling something akin to, 'uncouth oaf' under her breath.

The conversation echoed down the hall as the two left the mansion. Sirzechs stared out the window, joined by Grayfia who hugged into his arm, knowing full well what he felt at this moment and unsure of just how to proceed, especially with the forces involved. For now, warning his sister was all he could do and hope that she could keep her peerage from taking any rash actions. There was much at stake, and time was of the essence.

~End Act 1-1


	3. Act 1-2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plans of the fates begin to come to light, but will Thanatos be willing to follow them?

The following is a fan based short story, High School DxD is property of Ichiei Ishibumi, Miyama-Zero and ATX. Please support the official release.  
Warning, this story contains: Violence, gore, foul language, possible blasphemy, gratuitous amounts of nudity and sexual situations.

Reader discretion is advised.

Act 1-2

In a lavish hotel within Kuoh Town, the Three Sisters of Fate, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, sat comfortably in a shared private bath, the eldest of them sighing in contentment at their mission being accomplished. The middle and the youngest also seemed to be pleased, as they relaxed for the moment, but knew this would probably be the only chance that they had to be leisurely before their plan truly began. 

“I have to admit, mortals do know how to pursue hedonism.” said Clotho, who dipped under the water for a moment before emerging, her long red hair draped over the tops of her sizable chest.

“Indeed, I figured we could take a short rest before we begin our plan.” smiked Atropos, leaning back against the edge of the bath, stretching out her long legs, pointing her toes and and sighing, “Enjoy it my sisters, for after this we have much work to do in preparation for the return Keres.”

“Not to sully the mood Sister Atropos...” interjected the blonde haired Lachesis, who sat at the tub’s edge, dipping her feet into the warm water, not even ashamed of her own nudity, her hair tied up into a bun, she was not as buxom as her elder or even her younger sister, but she was still quite sizable, “…by now, the Underworld knows that Thanatos has been released, they’ll be looking for him and the ones responsible for releasing him.”

“Fear not my sweet Lachesis, it will take them ages to find the trail, but even then, they will not find him, or us.” chuckled Atropos confidently.

Clotho seemed to be completely carefree, to engulfed in the warmth of their bath as she continued to wash herself.

"What makes you so sure Thanatos will aid us… remember how your plan failed the last time?” she would say.

Atropos growled as she swung her arm and splashed a large wave of water over her sister who ended up completely under it for a brief moment before she surfaced, glaring in comtempt at the eldest.

“Have a little faith would you? He IS indebted to us for freeing him afterall.” retorted Atropos.

“His power hasn’t fully returned either, despite all of the killing he did in the Underworld.” snapped Clotho.

“She has a point, sister.” nodded Lachesis, “Do you really expect lesser beings to be able to sate the hunger of a God?” 

“What do you expect of inferior creatures?” chuckled Atropos, who still held onto her confidence, “Fear not, for I know of a powerful creature that will return our dear brother to his full power… a dragon…”

The younger sisters eyed each other carefully, skeptical of the eldest.

“Don’t be absurd.” groaned Lachesis.

“Dragons have been long gone for thousands of years.” added Clotho.

“That’s not necessarily true, now, normally I don’t dabble in the affairs of other beings, but there are two in existence, one lives in this very town, one that is said to have the power to defy the gods themselves.” Atropos chuckled, “Such a powerful soul absorbed into our brother will restore his power…”

Atropos rose from her seat, her raven hair covering her left eye as she let the water drip down her curvy frame.

“…and allow us to free Keres.” 

The younger sisters chuckled and grinned along with their eldest, whom grabbed a sponge from the side of the tub.

“So relax, and rejoice, for everything will soon be as it was.”

The sisters would enjoy a nice long bath, at least for the moment, for them, all of the pieces were coming together and their true mission would begin.

The sisters returned to the hotel room where they were residing, an unconscious Thanatos laying upon the bed, having been placed there seemingly with care.

Thanatos suddenly gasped as he shot straight up from the bed in which he lay upon, as if he were breathing for the first time. Placing a hand upon his forehead he tried to regain control of his faculties before he heard someone speaking to him.

"Well look who finally decided to wake up from another nap." Chuckled Atropos, whose voice came from somewhere in the room.

His vision was blurred as he held his hand over his eyes, remembering that all to familiar, velvet-laced voice he groaned.

"Atropos..." he said, quite annoyed, as he wondered to himself, “…of all people. What has happened?”

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you mean you don't remember?" She answered softly as she stood up and sat in a chair at his bedside, "...anything that happened?"

Thanatos groaned for a moment, his mind still hazy as he attempted to recollect what had transpired. His vision returned to him and he soon found himself in an unfamiliar bedchamber, as well as Clotho and Lachesis. Immediately he felt himself growing wary, as when the three of them were together, no good usually came with it. He noticed the sun peeking in through the current in the dark room, he darted from the bed and pulled them aside, below him was a completely unfamiliar city, he turned around toward the three.

"Where have you taken me? This isn't Ph-"

"Pharae? No, it is not." Atropos rose to join him as she cupped his cheeks and locked her eyes with his own, ruby red eyes, "Your big sister has been worried about you, especially after what brother Hypnos had done to you, sealing you in what would have been eternal sleep, but we spared you from such a fate."

Thanatos immediately pulled from her grasp with a sneer.

"What rubbish if I've ever heard it..." he growled, his temper showing, “Hypnos would never…”

“You’ve always trusted him, is it just because he’s your twin?” mused Lachesis, whom caught a cold glare from Thanatos that made her flinch.

"Take it easy brother, you have been sleeping for over 3,000 years." Said Clotho who kept careful watch on him.

"...what..." Thanatos said in disbelief, he took a look around once more, while he didnt want to take them at their word, he had no reason to doubt his sisters either.

"It's as Sister Atropos says, you've been asleep for a very long time and Hypnos was the one who put you there and sealed your powers as well." Came Lachesis, "It was horrible what he had done to you, and unfair after what they had done to Alket-"

Thanatos was upon her in mere moments, the blunt end of the Nail of Nyx placed firmly upon her neck. While Clotho stood ready, Atropos was surprised that even being asleep for so long, he was still so swift. He grit his teeth as he held the sword to her, Lachesis doing her best not to move, although she knew that the others would let nothing happen to her, she had forgotten how quick he was to anger.

"Do NOT speak her name in front of me..." his tone was that of someone who had lost someone dear to him.

Atropos stood and got between Lachesis and the blade gently tracing her fingers along the blade until it rested upon his hand, slowly pushing the sword down toward the floor.

"There's no need for such hostility brother, we have seen how much you have suffered."

"You know nothing of the pain those mortals made me suffer..." suddenly an image of the shrouded decaying figure flashed in his mind, causing him to drop the sword, furious roars echoing in his ears, the sunny sky outside the window of the room they were staying in darkened as the room around them shook, Lachesis gasped but managed to hold herself steady, as did Clotho. "...they... they took her from me..."

Atropos reached down and lifted his chin, locking her eyes with his own, her smile sweet and reassuring.

"Mark my words, we will make the mortals pay." She grinned.

"You intend to interfere in my domain..." he glared before brushing past her and returning to the window.

"Lest you forget brother, I decide when a mortal's time is at its end, not you."

Thanatos rose from his crouch and walked over toward the window, looking out into the world from which he had been for too long, barred

"Atropos... your attempt at intimidation match that of the lesser spawns of Zeus himself..." he glance over his shoulder at his sister, his red eyes narrowed in and a small smirk forming upon his lips, "…maybe I should just kill you."


	4. Act 1-3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azazel and Hypnos' investigation begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following is a fan based short story, High School DxD is property of Ichiei Ishibumi, Miyama-Zero and ATX. Please support the official release.
> 
> Warning, this story contains: Violence, gore, foul language, possible blasphemy, gratuitous amounts of nudity and sexual situations.
> 
> Reader discretion is advised.

Act 1-3  
"Hm, is that so...?" Asked Hypnos with an expression of skepticism.

"Yes... unfortunately there is no other way..." answered Azazel, who immediately held up a pair of chopsticks, "This is how you eat Ramen!"

With a gruff sort of gracefulness, Azazel lifted some noodles from within the bowl, slurping the noodles as he did so. With a sigh of contentment, he looked over at Hypnos who stared, bewildered by the actions of his guide, but then tried it himself. His eyes widened, he soon found himself slurping up the noodles in a rapid fashion before, rather uncharacteristically of a god, smacking his lips.

 

"Delicious! Its such a simple dish, yet the flavors are absolutely wonderous!" Hypnos squealed joyfully.

 

"I'm glad you like it." Smiled Azazel who continued to eat.

They continued to eat an converse about the simplicity and yet complexity of a bowl of ramen for a moment, they got about halfway through their respective bowls before Azazel finally spoke up once more, placing his elbows on the table and resting his chin in his hands.

“So, your brother, Lord Thanatos… just how dangerous is he?” he asked.

“It really depends, way back then his only duties were to escort the dead or dying to the underworld, a duty once left to Hermes before my brother and I were born.” Hypnos sighed and rolled his eyes, “But that is another story entirely.”

“That right? Well I do love a good story as you know.” Azazel laughed before reaching inside of his dress coat and producing a newspaper, setting it upon the counter and sliding it over to Hypnos, “Have you heard anything about this?”

Hypnos glanced at the front page of the newspaper, it outlined a robbery that had occured at the local museum in which an artifact was stolen, his eyes stood upon the picture of the stone torch which he immediately recognized. He also made note of the date, this was a robbery that happened recently, he looked up at Azazel.

“Well, this certainly explains why Thanatos was released.” he pointed at the picture of the torch, “This was used to seal him, I had it hidden away so that he would sleep for eternity. We’ll have to pay a visit to this place in the future, I might be able to gather some more clues as to who did it, and why.”

“It gets worse I’m afraid.” he turned the pages of the newspaper, flipping immediately to the article that detailed the article and what was found, “Apparently the bodies of some of the security detail had been found, throats slit with something like a wire, others, far more gruesome. Any idea who that could have been?”

Hypnos thought for a moment, but no one came not mind, not at first.

“There is no way she would dare, she has a bit of a grudge against Thanatos.” he said, but could not shake the possibility from his mind.

“You got an idea?” perked up Azazel.

“Depends… do you believe in fate good sir?”

“...you’re kidding.”

“Its not for certain, but Atropos and Thanatos have something of a bitter rivalry, their domain is death and are charged with forever being a shadow over mortals for all of eternity.”

“And what of this grudge this… Atropos, was it?” 

“You may not believe this, but at one point, Thanatos saved this world. Atropos, was tired of mortals not dying fast enough, as her power depended upon the fear and death of mortals, just as all gods of death do. She allied herself with our sisters, the Keres and went to the battlefields of mortals, ruthlessly slaughtering them all and sometimes even shifting their tides entirely. This angered Ares, Zeus and most of all, Thanatos, who subdued the Keres and imprisoned them behind the Doors of Death which he guards. After that, he threatened Atropos not to interfere in the affairs of mortals again, or the consequences would be dire. She fled with her sisters, vowing revenge, and things seemingly calmed, for a short while.” 

“And what was her revenge?”

“That I cannot say… all I know is one day Thanatos went absolutely berserk and began to slaughter an entire city of worshippers of Aphrodite, which was what led to his being sealed in the first place.’

“And now he’s free again… probably incredibly pissed and confused at the new landscape.” Azazel sighed, seeing how the mood grew all solemn, from the expresssion on Hypnos’ face, he began to grin and asked, “So, tell me, is Aphrodite really as beautiful as she’s rumored?”

“A man of culture I see…” Hypnos chuckled and rolled his eyes, “I’ll put it this way, imagine the perfect woman, now imagine a woman more perfect than that.”

Azazel’s grin widened upon hearing this, “Oh I can imagine the perfect woman, but what I would give to meet Aphrodite.”

“She’s got high standards, I doubt you would even get close to her without getting burned.”

“Well if she’s as beautiful as you say, then it’s worth a shot, is it not?” 

The two men shared a laugh over this, then Azazel spoke up again.

“So, you keep referring to Atropos… tell me is she…”

“That’s going a bit too far, I will not have you speaking of my sister in such a manner.”  
Azazel blinked, “Sister?”

“Technically half… Mother had many children besides my brother and myself…”

“Oh… f-forgive me my Lord!” Azazel bowed his head apologetically. ‘Nyx… Sirzechs… what have you gotten me into?’

“I’m just toying with you Sir Azazel, loosen up.” Hypnos held up a hand to one side of his face, “Ohohohohoho…”

“You are full of surprises Lord Hypnos, we’ll have to have a drink later. For now, want to check the museum?”

Hypnos was drinking the broth from his bowl, holding up a single finger, slurping down the last bit before setting the bowl down before nodding and rising from his chair.

“Yes, lets.” he nodded.

Azazel laid the payment upon the bar along with a tip and the two men exited the ramen house before heading to the museum. When they had finally arrived, the museum was surrounded, not only by police, but by the security detail as well. The two groaned at this sight.

“Well this is going to be a pain in the ass…” said Azazel.

Hypnos smirked, immediately reaching into the pouch on his belt, pulling out what looked to be black sand from within it.

“Watch closely now.” he said raising his hand to his mouth and floating just above the whole of the museum, blowing it gently to create a gentle cloud, engulfing the museum and all the people surrounding it. After a few moments, the cloud disappated, leaving everyone touched by it in a peaceful slumber, he nodded, floating back down to the ground, “Ohohohoho, I haven’t done that in millenia, I’ve forgotten how much fun this is.”

“Is that… poppy?” asked Azazel, unsurprised, considering who he was working with.

“Indeed, it’s as you said, the sandman envies me.” he said, pulling the cord on the bag tightly closed, “Shall we explore?”  
Azazel just nodded, looking around as the two walked up the steps and into the front door of the museum, as they passed one of the security guards, he snatched up the keyring a little beforehand.

“Don’t worry, they’ll be out until we leave the area, we’ll have free reign.” chuckled Hypnos.

“Going to need these then.” Azazel held up the keyring before moving to unlock the front door.

The two stepped inside the huge museum, Azazel of course led the way to the Greek wing, immediately Hypnos looked around at the various works of art and artifacts within, he sighed, it was almost nostalgic seeing all of these things again, he stopped and clenched his fist, the harsh reality setting in for him.

“Lord Hypnos, is something wrong?” asked Azazel, who looked genuinely concerned.

After a few moments of silence, Hypnos spoke once more.

“I’m alright… it seems mortals still have some appreciation of the old world, except this piece right here.” Hypnos said as he approached a specific painting, the plaque under it reading ‘The Birth of Venus’ he shook his head, “They got everything else right but her face looks nothing like that…”

“Really? She looks good to me, so is it true she was born nude?” chuckled Azazel as he joined Hypnos to gawk at the portrait.

“I’ve heard stories, but most of my time was spent in Tartarus. I wouldn’t doubt it however, considering she loves to wander around in little to nothing.” replied the god as he turned away from the painting and the two returned to searching through the museum once more.

They soon came to the case where the stone torch was on display, Hypnos sighed as he closed his eyes for a moment.

“Foolishness.” he simply said.

“I don’t think the humans had any idea the significance of this torch my Lord.” said Azazel reassuringly, “No question about it, there is some magical residue here.”

“I concur, but this isn’t from Atropos…” nodded Hypnos who began to search around the case, eventually he came upon a single thread, picking it up and showing it to Azazel, “...so they’re back together... “

“What do you mean?” Azazel asked.

“It’s Clotho… they’re back together again…” sighed Hypnos, “Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos.”

“The Fates…” worried Azazel, “Well we know who woke your brother up.”

“Yes… but what are the planning to do with him…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:  
> I have read comments and know that Thanatos in the canon of High School DxD is a Grim Reaper under the control of Hades and that this is entirely non-canon. My only intention is to do a play on the Thanatos and Hypnos myth with a twist, much like how a lot of the characters from the different pantheons have their own little quirks, such as Odin enjoying going to titty bars. This is just a story I’ve had on the brain for some time and wanting to put it on paper.
> 
> As for everything else, I’ll do my best to represent them as accurately as possible.
> 
> I do appreciate the feedback and thank the people that did comment for reading. Now enjoy the rest of the story, however unbelievable it may be.


End file.
